Card skimming and dodgy online shopping websites stealing your details definitely feel like two of the more common types of security breaches we hear about these days and hopefully they haven’t happened to you!

Here are some of the things you can do to protect yourself and identify suspicious transcations:

Being vigilant when using ATMs and making purchases via EFTPOS is a simple step to keep your card/banking safe. If you notice an odd device on the ATM - don’t use it! It’s likely a skimming device so you should report it right away.

You should always set a secure PIN, one that isn’t your birth year or post code for example. It’s also a great idea to shield your PIN when entering it and you should consider changing it regularly.

Regularly check your statements for transactions that look out of place.

If you want to be notified on the go, you should consider activating Easy Alerts with the Bankwest App so you receive push notifications ot your phone (even to smart watches) when certain transactions take place, such as; International Transaction, PayPass Transaction, and Low Balance.

Speaking of card security @SarahF, when oh when will customers be able to do a little bit more with Smart Alerts, or *gasp* offer Apple Pay for their BWA issued Mastercards?

I mention this because Smart Alerts 1) should have been mentioned in any article or content about card security, and 2) extending its feature set would allow users to get information straight into the palm of their hands.

Being able to extend Smart Alerts to cover domestic card transactions over a certain limit would be a very handy feature.

As for Apple Pay, that means instant push notifications whenever your card is used - somewhat similar to Smart Alerts, but with a lot more detail (Merchant name, location, actual amount).

I'm also a little bemused as to why checking your statement frequently wasn't mentioned, as well as information on how to dispute fraudulent transactions wasn't included in the post. Kind of irks me a little when only half of the issue is covered.

Thanks for your feedback @thewinchester. While the post wasn't designed to cover every measure, the ones you suggested certainly made sense so I've added them into Sarah's post.

If there are any other tips you have, please share them below - hopefully other members do too.

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